Man wearing bulletproof vest causes lockout at 3 schools

Man wearing bulletproof vest causes lockout at 3 schools

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The Durango Police Department asked three public schools to lock their doors Wednesday afternoon when a man in a bulletproof vest was seen on Durango High School’s campus, according to law enforcement.

A Durango High School administrator saw the man in the vest, without a shirt, and black cargo pants near the tennis courts behind the school, said Durango police spokesman Ray Shupe. The man disappeared before law enforcement could make contact, according to police.

The school administrators asked the liaison officer to lock the doors around noon, Shupe said. Patrol officers were called to help search for the individual. A call to parents warned of a lockout at Durango High School, Miller Middle School and Needham Elementary School.

The Durango Police Department apprehended the man within 20 minutes of the non-emergency call to parents. School administrators lifted the lockout around 1:20 p.m.

Law enforcement identified the man as Brett Santistevan, 34, of the Southern Ute Indian Tribe.

Durango police do not plan to charge Santistevan with a crime, Shupe said.

Law enforcement was alerted Tuesday that Santistevan on a Durango Transit bus with a bulletproof vest.

“It’s odd behavior,” Shupe said. “In this day and age, you can’t show up on a school campus in a bulletproof vest and not get a call.”

The school district’s announcement to parents said:

“Please note that your children are not in danger. This is being implemented as a precautionary measure to ensure their safety. A lockout means we lock the outside doors to the school but school activities continue as usual.”

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